Comments Off on 1896: Tige, the Newfoundland of Mount Loretto Orphanage for Boys in Staten Island, Part II

Tim and Tige lived and played on East 48th Street near First Avenue, pictured here in 1915. This neighborhood was razed to make way for the United Nations Plaza in 1948. NYPL Digital Collections When we left Part I of this Old New York dog tale, little Tim Leahy had just been separated from […]

Comments Off on 1896: Tige, the Newfoundland of the Mount Loretto Orphanage for Boys in Staten Island, Part I

Tim Leahy was only seven years old when his father died and his mother ran away and left him on his own. With no other living relatives in his homeland of Ireland, he was put on a ship and sent to live with a great aunt in New York City. Great Aunt Julia Kelley was […]

Comments Off on 1887: Punch and Chico, the Photogenic Dogs of Alice Austen That Lived Where History Was Made, Part II

Chico and Punch, the two pampered pooches of photographer Alice Austen, on the porch of Clear Comfort, the 17th-century farmhouse on Staten Island where Alice spent most of her life. Chico and Punch lived with Alice for about 15 years, during which time she took many photos of them. Alice took this photograph in 1893. […]

George Washington. Ben Franklin. General William Howe. Cornelius “Commodore” Vanderbilt. These are just a few of the prominent men in history who visited the 17th-century farmhouse on the banks of The Narrows in Rosebank, Staten Island, where photographer Alice Austen made history in the late 19th century. Today, this old farmhouse where Alice lived with her family […]

Comments Off on 1889: The Princess and the Pampered French Bulldogs Who Lived at the Gilsey House in New York City, Part I

This story is about three French bulldogs, the first cricket club in New York City, an old farm, and a grand hotel called Gilsey House. It stars a pseudo-princess named Aimée Isabella Crocker Ashe Gillig Gouraud Miskinoff Galitzine. If I had the ability, I’d turn this Old New York tale into a movie. Part I: Aimée […]

In this final chapter of Crispin’s Crispian, I’ll tell the fascinating story of what happened to the old New York farmhouse where his famous pet mom, Margaret Wise Brown, wrote her final children’s book, Mister Dog

In February 1966, the demolition of several old buildings on York Avenue between East 71st Street and East 72nd Street revealed a very tiny frame house where a dog once inspired author Margaret Wise Brown.